Has anyone had tubes put in childs ears?

Question

My 7 year old son has had an ear infection since the beginning of April. He went on Biaxin for 10days. His eardrum burst on day 9. We took him back in and got 7 more days of Cepro??? (I don't know how to spell it) went back to the Dr. at the end of the 7 days. She thought it looked okay but wanted us to go back 10 days later. That would have been this coming Friday. Well on Monday his eardrum ruptured again! It was only just Thursday and the Dr told us the drum was intact. He is now on his 3rd round of antibiotics Pediazole and has been told if this doesn't work he will need to get tubes. Has anyone had this happen or had this done??

9 minutes ago - 3 days left to answer.

Answer 1

I had it done many, many years ago at about five - and I remember the joy of being able to hear properly again.

Rupturing eardrums are a real pain. My daughter had this happen as a toddler, and for a couple of years every time she had an ear infection it would rupture again within hours of the first symptoms, too soon to even get her to the doctor let alone for antibiotics to work. They never suggested putting tubes in for her though - and it gradually got less frequent. It hasn't happened for several years now.

Answer 2

One son has tubes done twice as a young childn because he had antibiotic-resistant infections in his ears. MUCH better than a ruptured ear drum (poor kid!)

You'll need ear plugs for swimming but that is the biggest inconvenience and it will save your son some pain and discomfort.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I had them but all I remember is sitting on the table  asking when they were going to do the surgery(i'm not sure if it is a surgery though?) and they said it was done. My parents took me out for ice cream and I never had issues with my ears again :)

Answer 4

My daughter had tubes at 17 months. Best thing I ever did. No more ear infections for a long time. It was not traumatic, in fact she came out talking all about the bubbles, which they were blowing for her in recovery. Make sure you see a specialist to have it done. Hearing is not something you want to muck around with

Answer 5

i had tubes put in when i was a small boy.  it was quite painless.  but they didn't "pop" out like the doctor told me.  tissue grew around them and i had to have them extracted.  ouch!   i went to see that ear nose and throat man (even though i called him a docter of death) for 5 years.....to this day my right ear is not so good at hearing.

Answer 6

my sister had several sets of tubes put in as a small child. she was basically born with an ear infection, and had them almost monthly for her first year. tubes are definatly better than lots of drugs. My sister has to be very careful she is allergic to multiple antibiotics from having them so aften as a baby and toddler. make sure you buy several sets of soft wax earplugs for use during bathing and swimming.

Answer 7

The same exact thing happened to my Godson except he was 4! He had to have the tube in his ear and after that the ear infection problem decreased drastically. I honestly think it would help.

Answer 8

I had tubes in my ears at ages 3 and 10.  They will most likely put him under general anesthesia...I was put under the first time, but the second time they did local only and did it in the doctor's office.  But I think that's pretty rare and they probably wouldn't have done it that way if I was much younger or more fidgety.  The one thing about tubes is that they're a temporary fix and are literally a tiny plastic tube that they place in there to help the mucus drain and get airflow to the inner ear to prevent infections.  If he hasn't grown out of the ear infections by the time they fall out they will come back - but it's better than keeping him on antibiotics all the time.  (I hope you're giving him a daily probiotic...antibiotics kill all the good bacteria in the digestive system as well as the bad stuff so it makes your immune system weak.  You can get a good kid's probiotic at a supplement store, little pricey but totally worth it.)  

You will also want to keep an eye on his hearing, I have poor hearing in my left ear due to an eardrum rupture but it didn't happen right away, it wasn't noticeable until a year or two later after scar tissue had formed.

Don't be afraid of the tubes, much better for him than cycle after cycle of antibiotics.  I'm allergic to most antibiotics now because I had so many when I was little.  Good luck!

Answer 9

Tubes can be good and they can be bad.  My oldest is 16 and she has had 28 sets of them put in her ears from the age of 6 months till 13.  She has a defect in her eustachian tube which was the cause of the problem and would be hospitilized because of severe infection in the ears.  The problem was after an extended time with the use of the tubes she ended up with a permanant whole in her drum which caused a loss of hearing so we went in for surgery to put a graft on her eardrum which didnt work and had to be repeated a second time.  Now she still gets infections but I refuse anymore tubes in her ears.

My son had them and the first time they worked, they came out a year later and he never had another infection that was very severe.

Our ENT is great and he tested all of the kids for allergies.  When it was discovered the main issue was allergies and sinuses causing the ear issues he immediatly put them on allergy shots and knock on wood since then the youngest two have never had an infection and their sinus are less of a problem as well.

Before you agree to the tubes ask and see if it could be allergy related and go from there.

Answer 10

Personally, I've had tubes put in my ears 3 times...all of which I was put out for. I also was one that kept having ear infections over and over. Over time I had so much scar tissue built up and my middle ear was so eroded that I had to have my middle ear rebuilt and had to have a Tympanoplasty where they put in a prosthetic piece to replace a malfunctioning bone. (My eardrum didn't have anything to vibrate against) I also had to have a skin graft placed on my eardrum so it would work properly. It has helped significantly. Tubes aren't so bad really...and trust me I'm a wuss when it comes to pain. Just be really quiet for awhile after he has them because loud noises are painful. Before he has them you may want to work out a communication plan so he can easily tell you if he wants or needs something so he doesn't have to speak right away. Also he will probably be nauseous at first and the more sleep he can get the better.

Ear pain is definitely not fun but the tubes did help me even though I needed them a few times. Also, if it's windy outside try to keep his ears covered so wind can't get inside and after he gets out of the bath/shower make sure he didn't get water in his ears and if he did make sure they get dry. That's what happened with me, water would get caught and my ears wouldn't drain properly.  Good luck and I hope your little guy feels better :-)    Make sure he gets a treat like a quiet toy if he does have tubes put in. It helped me to have something to focus on. Good luck to you.

Answer 11

Didn't get as far as any sort of burst eardrum, but DS#1 had to have tubes put in his ears at around 9 months old.

The procedure is pretty simple and quick.  The worst part about the whole thing is that they will likely use general anesthesia.  The worst part of the whole ordeal will be the anesthesia wearing off.  Otherwise, there won't be any pain caused by the surgery.  You'll have to keep the ears dry for a few weeks.  After that, you'll have to avoid 'natural' water (ocean, lakes, rivers) unless you use ear plugs to avoid letting water get through the tubes and in the inner ear.

After that, the eardrum will naturally heal in about two years and the "tubes" will fall out on their own.

Answer 12

Yes my 5 yr old son just got his put in about a month ago. It was quick and painless. He thought he was talking funny but he hadnt heard himself talk normal in a long time. His school teacher says he is doing better in school too. Looks like they help in many ways.

Answer 13

I had tubes in my ears as an infant. I got a lot of ear infections, but I was allergic to all of the drug treatments--that meant three cases of hives. The tubes were the only option left, and they worked great. My hearing is perfect now, and I haven't had a serious ear infection since then.

Answer 14

We sort of bypassed tubes all together and had the tonsils and adenoids taken out. Best decision ever!! Not a single problem since. I know they do not routinely do this any longer, but in some cases, it works wonders.

Answer 15

yea, im 14 i had it done 3 times and i remeber the last one, they put you to sleep and it takes like 10 minites and when you wake up you feel real tierd and for about an hour, evrey thing you hear its like 10x louder. but he wont feel anything after about an hour